Portable enclosures, such as tents, have been used as blinds and shelters since the beginning of recorded time. The structure and appearance of such enclosures is as varied as human culture.
More recently, easily portable, lightweight, durable and affordable enclosures have become a desirable accessory for many outdoor recreational activities, including camping and hunting. The widespread availability of modern lightweight structures and fabrics has resulted in the proliferation of literally hundreds of new designs for portable enclosures. Among the many popular current styles for tents and hunting blinds are the so-called “collapsible” structures which utilize a spring-like framework which can be easily collapsed and folded for transportation and storage. Such popular designs are typified in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,667 issued to Miller.
It is also well known to apply camouflage or background-matching patterns or colors to portable enclosures. It is desirable, particularly by hunters, that a tent or hunting blind be as inconspicuous as possible in its environment, and the development of realistic camouflage patterns for such enclosures (as well as other articles) has resulted in the widespread availability of enclosures which are almost invisible in specific backgrounds. For example, such enclosures may be provided with a typical woodlands camouflage pattern, in which the enclosure's fabric bears a depiction of typical mid-summer forest greenery, including the usual mix of deciduous and coniferous foliage, underbrush and grasses which might be found in a Midwestern woodland in summer. A type of camouflage popular among waterfowl hunters would feature the typical foliage and associated scenery of a fall wetlands area, including tall reeds, cattails, and related types of growth commonly found near water, appropriately shaded for autumn waterfowl hunting. Similarly, for the winter hunting season, camouflage materials are available which feature those mixtures of white and brown hues which would be commonly found in a snow-covered climate during winter. In certain hunting environments, it is desirable to have a bright, high contrast color, such as “Hunter's Orange” to make the enclosure more (instead of less) conspicuous in relationship to its background.
By producing these types of enclosures in readily collapsible styles, the hunter or outdoorsman has available a wide selection of enclosures containing desirable camouflage backgrounds for any geographic environment or season. The major drawback of this range of choices, however, is the necessity for the outdoorsman to acquire different enclosures for different geographic areas and different seasons. The hunter, for example, who wishes to participate in both a fall waterfowl hunting season and a winter small animal hunting season might, of necessity, own two different collapsible camouflage enclosures, one depicting appropriate camouflage for the waterfowl season and environment, and a second for the winter season. Likewise, hunters traveling to different geographic areas during the same season will desire different camouflage patterns based on the environment in which their activities will be conducted. A camouflage pattern suitable for July in Northern Michigan, for example, would be unsuited for use during the same season in a western state, such as in the Oregon high desert. From a practical standpoint, although lightweight, such collapsible enclosures do have a certain volume and mass, and it is inconvenient to transport several different enclosures at once.
What is needed then, is an adaptable enclosure which is readily convertible between one camouflage or background pattern and another, utilizing a common framework. Also desirable is the incorporation of two distinct camouflage or background marking patterns in a single covering which could be reversibly applied to a framework.